powerlord

ok, thanks for that. how about using the x6.3 reducer/corrector and then adding the barlow ? or is that madness ?

Hi chaps, looks like awesome seeing forecast for tonight. I thought I'd go for a 12 panel mosaic with my C9.25 with 2x barlow and asi1600. First question: What filter ? I'm thinking either the zwo Ha or the cheap svbony IR pass I have ? Im not sure how good or bad the ir pass is though tbh.. whereas I know my Ha is nice from my DSO work. So.. Ha ? Second question: Gain wise, I always use unity 139 for DSO, but I'll be shooting 10 bit video here, and I assume I want gain much higher. is there a best setting ? and in firecapture do I need to set offsets ? (in asiair it takes care of this so never had to bother with it) For each panel, my plan was to shot full frame 4656x3520 in 10 bit for 8 mins: should get me 23fps according to spec (will try later this afternoon) - so 8 mins should get me >10k frames. that seem enough ? For moving rig, I think I have to do that manually, using firecapure liveview and using asiair controls to move mount.. which is gonna be a pain, but Im on a mac for capture and it seems firecapture doesn't do mosaics ? so MoonPanorama maker not an option. So it's a case of setting up, capturing with a 10k limit on frames, move to next panel, repeat I think ? any other tips ?

but that's not what the graphs say or am i reading it right ? So I read that as SOMETHING (i.e. the electronics in the mount then I assume) is controlling the pec curve ? And it looks like it is consistent ? seems weird you can't compensate with PEC calculation then ? But if not, your guiding has to do a fair bit of work then, guiding out 20" every 10 mins ?

If I'm understanding it properly though isn't the computer required to correct the PEC ? And if it is, that also means they must be adding PEC correction to ASIAIR which could be good for the rest of us. Or is the PEC correction internal to the mount since it's known ?

So I'm humming and hawing about going straight to lightweight box section galvanised sheeting. You can get 12 45cm x 129cm sheets (.27mm thick) from ebay for 80 quid. very thin, but really ideal for this job. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143822624013 3 sets of those should do the lot. I'd like to keep it as simple as possible, and as I've been happily using the slab base for a year I know thats fine for the mounts- If I find I need to tweak the PA once a week it's not the end of the world. My thoughts are: use 3x3" stabs with post anchors rather than concrete. mount these around the outside of the existing 260cm circular slabs. I'll remove around 4" out of top grass from around the slabs and replace with gravel. attach and screw in the steel sheets, with each alternate one to a post, the other one being floating and secured the the next with self drilling screws/silicone. At the back of the circle I need a door- not sure how to do this at present, but I'm thinking around between two of the posts (90cm or so) - putting some sort of frame on those sheets and hinges, etc so that it can open up/close and be secure with some sort of lock. On top of that, goes the removable section. This consists of the shape in the animation above. once all connected in the round and joined to the roof with L joints and fixings, it will be very solid. It can be made slightly larger circumference than the base, so it slips over it, and with an internal rim around 30cm into it all round, this will be the load bearing surface that sits on top of the bottom section. Again, this needs to be secured, and I'm thinking of using electro-magnetic remote servo locks. I've used these in my motorhome and they work really well. As the roof is then just some very think panels it should be very light and not too tricky to pop off and on. Once off, the door can be opened to allow me to get in and out when required. As it's pretty solid I can mount my power, light, security webcam, ethernet, etc all to the inside of the lower part. I'm thinking about a humidity controlled 50w pipe heater as well, just to keep the humidity down. this seems to me to be a decent way of getting what I want. the mounts themselves are just 2 EQ6s on 2" SS tripods. I'll drill small indents in the slabs where they sit aligned and put some sugra in there to just settle the legs. I see now reason why they shouldn't stay perfectly aligned really. The roof remains high enough to leave the scopes on if I'm imaging the next night or whatever, but mosty I imagine I'll remove the scopes and just leave the mounts out there with the connected gubbins (asiairs, etc) In the future, maybe I can automate the roof on/off, but tbh I don't think it will be an issue. The think I like about this also is that IF it 2 or 3 years I get sick of it, it's all easily removable leaving only 10 holes to be filled - no slabs of concrete, etc. anyone done anything similar ? I have searched and come up empty, but for me a 6" high shed just creates more issues than it solves so it's not for me.

ah, ok. will try that. thanks. stu

Ok thanks Vlaiv, but I don't have a 1.5x barlow. Just have to make do with what I've got. With IR pass that comes out to 8.8.. so not so bad ?

it's a fair point. one of the reasons I reckon Correx prototype first. It's not massive, so a handle in middle of roof would allow a vertical lift (rather than try to grab around the girth - so might find that work best. Or perhaps two car starter solenoids under roof. Press to first roof up into the air and then catch it ? 🤪

Last time I shot the moon I think I used my 9.25 with 6.3 reducer and just my asi1600, since I was also shooting DSO stuff that night. So not very good fps, but good FOV. And the shot was good enough that it's now an 80cmx80cm canvas print on my wall 🙂 Obviously I could shoot without it.. but I assume also I could use my 2x barlow ? that's take me to 4700mm. and then use my ASI224 ? I'll just capture a tiny wee bit, but at very high FPS. I'm interested in just what the limit is I can get from lucky imaging ? I know I'm hardly the first, and probably I'm wasting my time, but just feels like a cool experiment. Probably the moon guru, @neiil phillips will be able to tell me ? anyhoo, that's the plan for wed night - shoot apollo 15 or 17 landing site. I am expecting to see the lander and flag flying 🤪 stu

yo. just thought I'd better update this thread: I tried latest firmware with my asiair a few nights ago - first time I've tried azgti for ages as was sick of runaway guiding issues. Anyway, they do now appear to be sorted for me at least !! yeah. guiding ran for a good 4 hours - not stunningly low RMS - sometime under 1" rms, something over 2", but good enough considering I had a very long 5.2kg of gear on it. Good that it's finally fixed! Should be a decent mount now for wider field stuff - I was kinda pushing it with a 500mm 80ED on there tbh.. though worked out ok, I'd usually be using it for wider field stuff.

ha! well, it was saying fan was at 5% or something. I imagine it was close to having to need a heater!

yeh get the cheapest you can from ebay - it's a bit of aluminium. not unobtainium. And for top bars (attached to rings for stuff), I just bought a 40mm bit of ali bar. cut it to size, drill as required. simples. Also, stating the obvious maybe, but it's amazing how many folk seem to buy fancy bars so the bolts fit.*. jeez - buy a drill. the holes on most bars are a hellish combination of metric and imperial usually anyway - never where you need em. 👍 stu *or even worse force metric bolts into imperial threads of visa versa!🤨

I bought my 1200d modded. So no before pics. But it is very worthwhile. actually if you look at Nico's latest video he has before and afters from 'a' DSLR - even if not 1200d it will give you an idea:

it better be, as Im only one person 🙂 top part shouldn't weigh more than 10-15kg or so

fair enough - I could just see me at a sky meet, and someone pointing and saying 'why are you not using the minmong nubbins - they make XYZ soo much easier.

Hi chaps, so - I've got a 2.6m diameter paved circle that I do my imaging in. I can fit both my EQ6es and scopes in that. I'm fully automated with asiair, so I have been humming and hawing about a shed type build, but it doesn't make sense for me - it brings a whole heap of other issues like height of scopes to clear shed sides, which means piers, which means concrete, etc I think all I actually need is a secure waterproof 'shed' around my current location. My plan is to build this in Correx plastic sheet first (2mm ribbed sheeting). this will be pretty solid once assembled and will let me easily adjust, change and otherwise fiddle with it. The basic idea is a base 'A' which is a 1m high cylinder of correx, with an internal 'shelf' at the top of the cylinder around 2-3cm wide all around the inside (nylon pave edger). Base B is a second 1m high cylinder of correx, but with the internal shelf around 25cm into the base. Additionally, the top is pent, with a correct eliptical roof. the roof and base B and solidly and waterproofly connected. the internal shelf have magnets arranged around them. So basically the top B+roof just lift off and can be put on lawn for imaging. Then in morning, popped back on. It should be fully water resistant, decently wind resistant.. but of course, with the prototype correx, not exactly secure. Once I've sorted out the niggles, I do the same thing with think corregated galvanised steel sheeting. here's a mickey mouse animation showing the roof lifting off, along with roughly what it will look like in garden. Top of front highest bit of pent is enough to clear my mounts with scopes fitted in home position (tripods in lowest position which is where I used them from) Basically during the day it's gonna just look like a hot tub really. Assem3.mp4

Oh that's a pity. I 've found most of the old lenses I've bought have been good for astro once shut down a few stops

At the base of each 2" sw tripod leg.. Just in case I'm missing some use or other as it seems to serve no purpose.

moving it around with the hand controller, it seems only a bit more whiny than my new eq6r-pro to be honest. certainly not what i'd call loud. I'll see what it guide like first anyhoo then, otherwise I'll have no way of knowing if it was worth it or not. cheers stu

Hi chaps, bought an older EQ6 Pro. It came with Rowan kit in box. Is guiding much better with it ? I'm figuring I'll try it before for a night first, see what the RMS is, then when I fit it I'll know if it's better... but if enough folk say 'don't waste yer time, it's fine as it is' - then I'll not bother. stu

right, would i be right in that: - i can get a usb to dsub, connect asiair direct to mount, forget about handset. and it's same as my eq6-r pro - i can get a usb to rj12, connect asiair to handset 'universal port' and work that way - but that seems pointless as I'll never use the handset I'm hoping im right, as just ordered the usb to dsub from FLO.. along with a dual adm plate (came with adm losmandy, so got the puck, just need a new plate).

ah. sorry didn't know.

most zooms are not very good for stars. I think this 40 page thread is testament to the samyang 135 being a good buy. BUT, you don't need to spend 400 quid on a samyang. I'm not a nikon man, but if you get yourself a vintage prime lens from ebay - 135-200 or so for 30 quid, chance are good that it will work quite well too. And with the savings, get yourself an L-extreme 2" and screw it over the end. that'd be my advice anyhoo. stu

looking better. background still greenish. maybe scnr it ?

hi chaps, I've just bought another EQ6. 7 or 8 years old, so unlike my other 2020 one, no USB. It has the dsub port that the handcontroller plugs into, and it has an RJ12 'guide' port. I've had a look around and both cables seem to be available for 'eq6', plus there's talk of ones that plug in to the hand controller, so I thought the quickest way of find out which EQDIR/MOD cable I need is to ask here. I do have an azgti one.. but don't want to just try it in case 12v goes where it shouldn't. stu